Miguel Baeza and Punahele Soriano meet Saturday in the principle card opener of UFC on ESPN 57 from KFC Yum! Middle in Louisville, Ky. Take a look at this fast breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano UFC on ESPN 57 preview
Baeza (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) entered the UFC on a tear after his Dana White’s Contender Sequence look. His first three fights resulted in second-round stoppage victories over Hector Aldana, Matt Brown and Takashi Sato. Nonetheless, he has since struggled. Baeza is at present on a three-fight skid, together with back-to-back stoppage losses to carry his UFC run to .500. … Soriano (9-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) might be seeking to get again to that .500 mark. Soriano additionally got here out of the gates scorching after his DWCS signning. He stopped Oskar Piechota and Dusko Todorovic within the first spherical, however has since gone 1-4 over his final 5.
Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano UFC on ESPN 57 skilled decide, prediction
Persevering with their anti-Joe Silva card formatting pattern, the UFC matchmakers not-so-surprisingly open the cardboard with a welterweight bout between Soriano and Baeza.
In Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby’s protection, these two are each thrilling fighters who might produce a possible welterweight struggle.
Baeza, who’s coming off north of a two-year layoff, might be trying to cease the bleeding of a three-fight shedding skid reverse southpaw Soriano.
Though Baeza formally stands 1-0 reverse UFC-level southpaws (Takashi Sato), he’s by no means confronted one as imposing and harmful as “Puna.”
A former middleweight fighter and collegiate wrestler, Soriano has largely made his cash by punishing opponents together with his crushing energy on the toes. The Hawaiian has underperformed in his current string of losses, so anticipate Soriano to return out with one thing to show this Saturday.
Regardless of my admitted bias for Soriano and his staff at Xtreme Couture, I imagine that Baeza – who’s the deserved favourite – is a harmful fighter to again as a favourite attributable to his suspect chin. For that motive, I’ll facet with Soriano to attain a semi-surprising knockout by way of a verify proper hook in Spherical 2.
Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano UFC on ESPN 57 odds
The oddsmakers and the general public are favoring the fighter from Florida, itemizing Baeza (-184) and Soriano (+142) by way of FanDuel.
Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano UFC on ESPN 57 begin time, the way to watch
As the principle card opening bout, Baeza and Soriano are anticipated to make their walks to the octagon at roughly 8:05 p.m. ET. The struggle broadcasts reside on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC on ESPN 57.
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